In the context of a long lull in Libya, when the parties have given up direct fighting and toughened political rhetoric, the first steps towards the restoration or rather the creation of some semblance of national institutions are being observed. The Armed Forces have not been spared from such processes. It is in this logic that the recent visits of Lieutenant General Mohammed Al-Haddad, Chief of General Staff of the Western Libyan forces, to the United States and Russia should be understood – events that are not insignificant from a military and political perspective, but hardly fit into the discourse about the potential support of one or another world centre of power.

More than 80 military delegations from around the world visited Russia during the recently concluded Army-2024 international military-technical forum held at the Patriot Exhibition and Convention Centre from 12-14 August 2024, ensuring widespread interest in the event, albeit overshadowed by tensions along the Russian-Ukrainian border in the Kursk region. Largely reflecting Moscow’s deliberate policy of rapprochement with the states of the African continent, the forum was attended by a number of representatives from the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa, including Libya, Niger, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Mali and others. And while it is too early to talk about major successes as well as disappointments related to the outcome of the forum, it is already possible to consider one of the most unique cases of participation: the Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces of Western Libya, a territory controlled by the Government of National Unity (GNU), arrived........

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